Lowry said his decision to turn down a new deal to rejoin Coleraine was purely about football.

"It was a purely football decision for me," he said.

"Travelling is one thing but when it comes down to it it is all about the football and where I think the best place is for me to achieve success.

"I felt the way things are going here, I'm a local lad with good ties to the club, it was a no-brainer for me.

"It was hard to decide to leave Linfield because it is a great club, but I felt the time was right to come back to Coleraine and I'm looking forward to a fresh challenge.

"Obviously my contract was up at Linfield, and I had options to stay there or go to other clubs, but I wanted to be part of what's happening here at Coleraine.

"There's a good buzz about the club, Oran is building something special here and I want to be part of it. I'm really happy with my decision."

Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney is also delighted to link up again with a player he knows so well.

"It was was an absolute no-brainer of a signing for us," he said.

"We won't deny it we didn't want him to leave the club.

"I've known him for a long time. I managed him at Limavady before he joined Coleraine, I was fortunate enough to join him here, and when he left us he had developed into easily one of the best in the league.

"That's still there for me, he has always looked after himself, he no different now to what he was like at 24.

"But his football brain has developed immensely over the last ten years.

"He's right at the peak of his career, but with someone like Stevie, who looks after himself so well, he can prolong his career with consummate ease.

"I'm delighted to have him back. For as good as we were last year he gives us that wee bit of calm and something different.

"There was a few games this season when we maybe didn't put our foot on the ball or settle as quickly as we would have wanted, particularly in the last six weeks.

"Stevie will bring us experience and a standard to training and the club as a whole which will bring loads to the changing room and the players around him.

"It's the perfect fit for me. We've just finished second in the league and won the cup with that how do you better the squad?

"I don't want to sign squad players for want of a better word, I want to bring in players who will push the guys already here, and Stevie will absolutely do that.

"He has gone and won all the medals he wanted to win, but there's still a hunger and a desire, and probably a bit of unfinished business here to finish off what he started.